Single parent watching show alone on first night?

[DisneyClown]

Single mom here, and I will be taking my first Disney cruise, (first cruise ever) next Summer with my kids, ages 4 and 7, (boy/girl) at time of travel. I am thinking I will be a bit overwhelmed on the first day, with checking in, lunch, checking out the room, checking out the kids club, drill, sail away party, dinner......
I wanted us to eat dinner together, and then see the show, but now I am reading that maybe the kids should be in the kids club that first night, so they can make some friends, which I really want them to do. Have any other single parents let their kids go to Kids Club on that first night, and see show alone? I'm not sure yet how I feel about that.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Not a single parent but my children adapted to the club first day and you couldn't get them out. Overdoing it will be noticed the next morning. Enjoy.

 

[aggiedog]

Depends on the kids, and on you. If they are independent, they will be fine. Don't forget, though, that if it's an open house time, you will need to be with them. If they miss that first night, but are easy to make friends, at that age it shouldn't be a problem.

And give yourself permission to not do everything. It's not possible and only results in frustration.

 

[KristiMc]

I would think that more kids will be at the show and then go to the clubs after.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

If you were on a 7 night on the Fantasy, I'd say send the kids to the club and then you skip the show and enjoy something relaxing. But on the Dream, the first night show is the Golden Mickey's. I'd take the kids with you to see the show and then let them go to the kids club after. There will be plenty of other kids doing the same.

 

[jrabbit]

I agree with the prior post - take the kids to the show, then let them go to the clubs. If its the "Welcome Aboard" show, it is skipable and the kids will mostly be board until Mickey and the gang show up.

On the other hand, don't feel like you need the kids to go to any show. If you don't go to the show, what do you think you would rather do? Don't just go back to your room! There are some other things going on around the ship.

You seem to be setting yourself up to be "sad". Remember this is YOUR vacation as well as your kids. There are things to do apart and together. Look forward to BOTH of those adventures. When you are apart, your kids and you should be having fun. They will tell you what they did and you will enjoy it through their stories (and unfortunately they really won't care what mom did while they were in the clubs). And you will have fun times together making memories.

 

[jlynch924]

It's been our experience that our daughter made new friends every time she went to the clubs, and she goes to the shows with us. My point is they won't miss out on making friends, because there will always be other opportunities. I totally agree with pp... you don't have to do everything (you can't do everything!). Just relax, play it by (Mickey) ear and have a great time!

 

[firepuppy]

I'm also a single mom, mine is not that little any more. When he was in the clubs he loved to go and have fun with other kids. The cruise staff will make you feel like a part of a bigger group. If you are eating 1st seating then show is after dinner and if you are eating 2nd seating it will be before dinner. I also found my table mates were all single moms and we had fun after dinner.

 

[KristiMc]

I also wanted to add that with your kids being 4 & 7 they will find friends every time they go to the clubs. It is really suggested for the older kids in the Edge & Vibe to make sure they go on the first night because for that age group its important.

 

[DisneyClown]

You guys are making me feel lots better about this.

 

[ashley0139]

Why wouldn't you go to the show alone?

 

[DisneyClown]

Why wouldn't you go to the show alone?

I don't mind viewing the show alone. I just wanted me and my kids to view it together, but I didn't want to keep them from kids clubs if that was going to inhibit the chance to make friends they could possibly play with for rest of cruise. Sometimes kids associate together and then it is hard for another kid to come along and join in the group, but as pp stated, that really isn't the case on a cruise.

 

[aggiedog]

Glad to help. In my experience, even parents that keep short rein on their kids (myself and SIL included), tend to loosen the strings on the cruise. The kids meet all kinds of friends, there's so much to do, and they are well cared for in the clubs. The kids can be given privileges for checking themselves in and out, which I'm guessing at your kids' ages they won't have. So you can drop them off and go have fun, even if fun for you is curling up with a book and a cup of coffee. We would sit with the Navigator each night and see what activities the kids wanted to do, and what we wanted to do as a family that next day.

 

[Carie Baker]

I'm a single Mom too. We are getting ready to do our 3rd Disney cruise. I only have one though. I made breakfast and dinner mandatory to be done together for each cruise. We go to breakfast and talk about the things we want to do (make a game plan). Mine is 13 this trip but even on the last cruise he was in the Edge too but I allowed him to sign in and out on his own. Dinner is when we catch up on the day and talk about after dinner plans. I always got a second navigator and highlighted what I was going to be doing, so that he could put it in his pocket and that way he would know where to find me and he always had to use the wave phone to let me know if he was leaving edge to go somewhere else even just back to the room. Now with the app I'm hoping to just you the text function on our phones instead. They have a single's mingle usually on the ship.... maybe you can meet other single parents and go to shows together. My son and I do dinner then the show and then he goes back to the kids club.

 

[DCDisney]

It really depends on your kids. We cruised with my niece 4 and nephew 7 and 2 other friends of similar age and all of them did not care for the kids club and we had to rearrange some of our shore excursions and spa plans. They loved the pool area so much and to them the kids clubs felt too similar to day care.

 

[sdjen]

Single mom here too about to go on our 4th. My suggestion would.be to join the meet group for your cruise. Even if there isn't another single parent family, you can get to know some other families that might have kids close to the age of your kids. They could make friends that way too. It's fun to chat with everyone pre-cruise.

 

[GusGus77]

Since they are younger I wouldn't worry about them meeting kids in the club. They will meet new friends every time they go and many that age will not be in the club the first night. Plus, the kids who are in there change frequently so they will not always be there with the same group of kids. That is more an issue for the teens.

 

[DisneyClown]

I'm a single Mom too. We are getting ready to do our 3rd Disney cruise. I only have one though. I made breakfast and dinner mandatory to be done together for each cruise. We go to breakfast and talk about the things we want to do (make a game plan). Mine is 13 this trip but even on the last cruise he was in the Edge too but I allowed him to sign in and out on his own. Dinner is when we catch up on the day and talk about after dinner plans. I always got a second navigator and highlighted what I was going to be doing, so that he could put it in his pocket and that way he would know where to find me and he always had to use the wave phone to let me know if he was leaving edge to go somewhere else even just back to the room. Now with the app I'm hoping to just you the text function on our phones instead. They have a single's mingle usually on the ship.... maybe you can meet other single parents and go to shows together. My son and I do dinner then the show and then he goes back to the kids club.

That is what I am wanting as well, to make sure we are doing the dinner and show together. I might find out they don't want to be in the kids club at all, or maybe not a lot, and that is fine too! That is a great idea about highlighting what you are doing for you son. I made a mental note of that for when mine are older, as I am really hoping we like this cruise and go on many more!

 

[DisneyClown]

Single mom here too about to go on our 4th. My suggestion would.be to join the meet group for your cruise. Even if there isn't another single parent family, you can get to know some other families that might have kids close to the age of your kids. They could make friends that way too. It's fun to chat with everyone pre-cruise.

I have joined the meet group on FB for my cruise, but it is just getting started and not a whole lot of people in it yet. No one yet with kids my ages, and no other single parents yet. We have quite awhile to go though, so I am sure it will be filling up!

 

[anjuan]

Another single mom here. We joined the cruise group and my daughter made friends through that. My daughter loved going to the shows and that was a favorite time of the day together for us. But with that being said I know I would be ok going to the show alone if she did want to go to the club. You may just want to play it by ear. I even went to the champagne brunch alone and had a blast talking to my waiter! Have fun!